Dear Democrats,

Wow! We knew this election cycle would be tough, and while we don’t have all of the official results yet, it’s clear that grassroots Democrats like you came through big time in an extremely difficult election year.  

Even up against the most extreme circumstances -- in a competitive three-way governor race, with out-of-state donors providing near-unlimited sums of money to our opponents -- the Democratic Party of Oregon, our candidates, and supporters exceeded expectations.

Tina Kotek is our next governor. Her masterful campaign deftly defeated not one but TWO conservative opponents.

Congratulations to Senator Ron Wyden, Congressman Blumenauer, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici on their re-election. Oregon is lucky to have an incredibly strong, progressive delegation represent our state in Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to Congresswoman-elect Val Hoyle! Representing CD5, Val Hoyle will expand her record of supporting working families and fighting for our freedoms.

Our other federal races are very close. We anxiously await further totals for Andrea Salinas and Jamie McLeod-Skinner. They’ve run smart, strategic campaigns, and we will do everything we can to support them as the ballot counting process continues. As always, we have plenty of work to do to ensure that every voice is heard. And we salute Joe Yetter for his campaign of courage and integrity, offering the voters of CD2 the option of electing a true public servant.

Congratulations to Christina Stephenson, our next labor commissioner. She has an ideal background as a civil rights lawyer and small business owner to bring fairness and accountability to this critical role protecting our workforce and supporting good jobs in Oregon.

Races for the Oregon Legislature will sort out over the next few days, and we expect to continue to hold majorities in both chambers. What is clear is that our candidates left it all on the field. They did absolutely everything possible to win these elections, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.

Critically, I want to again thank every single one of you, our volunteers and donors who donated their time, money and energy to this effort. Through the sun, rain, sleet and snow, you took time out of your evenings and weekends to get out the vote during one of the most consequential elections in our state’s history.

For every success in this election, you are the reason why. For the races we lost, you are the reason I have hope for the future and the reason that we will redouble our efforts, continue to strengthen our Party, and come back even stronger.

Democratically yours,
KC Hanson, Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon